Imposition
by Fic Fairy
Summary: Sometimes the story of reality is best told through fiction. This is the story of the Junior Contract told through the eyes of the staff of the Holby ED.


**Imposition**

 **By Fic Fairy**

"Connie? Are you OK?"

She didn't look up, her gaze firmly fixed on the screen of her laptop, looking pale in spite of her make up. She shook her head, but just barely, the gesture hardly perceptible. He waited for her to speak, but she didn't, just continued to stare at the screen.

Charlie cleared his throat, eyeing her with concern, "We knew it was coming. He wasn't going to go back to the table."

She shrugged, her gaze still fixed and knowing her as well as he did he was able to spot the tell-tale way she was biting the inside of her lip, a sure sign that she was fighting back tears. It was an extreme response for a woman who generally resisted showing signs of emotion but he understood. She had given so much to the NHS over the years; made serious sacrifices on more than one occasion, to see it being run roughshod over and railroaded would be – to her, he knew – as bad as seeing a family member mistreated.

She finally lifted her eyes to meet his, blinking slightly from the tears he could tell were pricking them.

"Our patients deserve better than this. Our staff deserve better than this. The man is a," she spat the word, her rage rising, "prick. Jeremy Hunt? More like Jeremy C-"

"Connie," he cut her off, hoping he sounded more soothing than patronising, "I know you're upset, but you can't take this personally." He sat down opposite her, watching her expression for any sign of change, "And you know that's what you're doing."

As he expected her rage rose several notches, "Of course I'm taking this personally. It's about people." She got to her feet and started pacing the floor of her office, "It's about Ethan. He couldn't get any closer to the edge right now, and Cal, who's been a ticking time bomb waiting to explode for weeks."

He couldn't disagree with her there, even if she wasn't being entirely honest with either herself or him about the full reasons for her distress. Their two young Registrars had obviously been under pressure for some time, not just with personal issues, or the stresses of work, but the ongoing question of the new contract.

"Then there's Lily." She added, "The debacle with Alicia. That should never have happened. That situation was unforgivable but it's going to keep happening. When Doctors are trying to juggle the professional development of others alongside their own in these conditions," he could have sworn she let out a sob although she tried to smother it, "this crap isn't going to go away."

He silently reached out and took a tissue from the box on her desk, and handed it to her without a word. She took it gratefully but turned away from him to dry her tears, obviously wanting to maintain a shred of dignity. He gave her time to gather herself and tshen spoke gently but firmly,

"Connie, your team need you. Ethan and Cal and Lily need you." He let the words hang in the air momentarily and then added, "I don't want to sound harsh but you need to man up, you need to get your game face on, and you need to get out there and lead."

She sighed, her back remaining to him for a few moments, and then she turned to face him, looking less weepy, and a somewhat more stoic expression on her face. It was good to see. He smiled at her reassuringly, "Good girl, you can do this."

She sat back at her desk, "What do I say to them, Charlie?" she asked hesitantly, "Look at the hard choices they have ahead. The BMA aren't going to roll over on this; as well they shouldn't but you and I know what that means." She took a deep breath, "More strikes. Full walkouts."

He understood her concern. To a degree their Junior Doctors had been protected from having to make tough calls by the strikes being restricted to non-emergencies only, but that could all change tomorrow and Cal, Ethan and Lily could all find themselves in the unenviable position having to choose between supporting the cause and caring for their patients; doing their job.

He reached across the desk and took her hands in his, "You don't need to get ahead of yourself." He said pointedly, "They know it's a possibility, they don't need you spelling it out to them. What you need to do is reassure them, let them know you're on their side."

"Which I am." She said with a slight nod, "Don't they already know that?"

"They do." He said with a smile, "You've been a fantastic boss over last few months." He told her, not just because he knew she needed to hear it but because it was true. Connie had left no one in any doubt of where her loyalties lay recent times, whether it was through her Twitter published open letter to the Secretary of State for Health, the countless drop ins to work her charm on the public at Meet the Doctors events or the pizzas delivered to the picket lines. For a woman who he'd once doubted had the emotional capability to run an Emergency Department on the most human of levels, she'd done him and herself proud. "They couldn't have asked for more from you." He added, "But it never hurts to say it again."

She nodded slowly, getting to her feet. "I can do this. I will do this. I owe it to them."

The firmness; fierceness even, in her voice was encouraging; she sounded, he thought, like a mother lion preparing to protect her cubs, but at the same time something in her words worried him, and he thought back to her earlier words regarding it being personal. That in mind, he got to his feet too, placing himself between her and the door, "Connie. This isn't your fault. You do know that?"

"I know that. I'm not Jeremy Hunt." She laughed slightly, but the humour didn't meet her eyes leaving him in no doubt that she knew full well exactly what he was referring to. He lay his hand on her arm and squeezed it reassuringly, "No, but I know your past relationship with Michael must be weighing on your mind."

She jerked away from him, obviously disconcerted that he'd been so unsubtle as to mention it, but as her eyes clouded again he knew he'd been right to do so.

"I just can't believe he'd sell out like that." She murmured, her voice taut with emotion once more, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I know he's ," she paused slightly, obviously trying to select any one of a number of terms that could have applied to her ex-husband and drop it into place, "a snake, but" she sighed, "we were Junior Doctors together. Registrar and SHO. Either side of the working time directive. He knows how dangerous this contract could be. He's not an idiot." She stopped, considered her words and then backtracked slightly, "He's not a TOTAL idiot. Why would he work for that man? Why would he sell our younger selves down the river like that?"

Charlie sighed, wondering if it was the correct moment to remind Connie that the ex-husband she seemed to be remembering so fondly had, at one point, risked her professional reputation and as good as thrown their marriage away because it best served him to do so, then decided against it since she didn't seem to be in the best headspace as it was. Instead he squeezed her arm again; which felt like an empty gesture second time round, and said, "People change."

She sighed, "Well he must have done if he's spin doctoring for that moron."

He looked at her, torn. On one hand she seemed to be floundering, and probably in need of some TLC. He contemplated talking it through with her to try and get to the bottom of the real issue she had with her ex-husband working for the dark side, or fetching Jacob to provide the kind of distraction Charlie wasn't in the position to give, but, when it came down to it, he really believed the best thing he could do for her was a little bit of tough love and a well-placed reminder that actually, this wasn't about her.

"It's not Clinical Leads Mr Hunt just shafted." He pointed out, then quickly cut her dead before she could quite rightly argue that it wasn't as simple as that, "Your cubs need you, Connie." He said gently but firmly, thinking of his earlier analogy, "Go get 'em, Nala."

xxx


End file.
